Digimon Reboot
by Kenliano
Summary: Cal Lynn and 3 other human children are torn from their world by an unknown force and pulled into the Digital World. Each partnered with a newly hatched digimon, the children are confused, and no one seems to know who brought them there, or why. But there must be a reason. And Cal and the others are determined to find out.
1. Prologue: Digivice

"It's time."

A feathered creature stepped into the darkness. Talons made muffled clacks against the floor.

She was inside a program. One that she and her companions had been working on for a long, long time. It was both powerful and elaborate; it had to be if it was to extend into and have manifestation in the human world. It was just a plain dark cube, really. They had not bothered to spend time on a user interface.

"Are you ready?" a voice from outside the cube called to her.

She hesitated. Owlmon had had misgivings from the beginning. Was it morally acceptable for them to snatch humans from their world and compel them to be a solution to _this_ world's problems? There was no guarantee of success. And there was no way of knowing if there would be negative repercussions on the humans or the world they came from.

"No. I'm not," was Owlmon's answer. "But I will initiate the program now."

Owlmon let instincts almost as old as the Digital World itself guide her, as she reached her consciousness towards the workings of the program. She felt how elaborate it was, and regretted that they never created an interface for it; it would have certainly inspired something beautiful. With a gentle nudge from her thoughts, the program initiated. And she pulled herself back into her body.

Four points of light of different colours appeared before her. Blue, red, yellow, and white. And each vanished in a gentle pop that belied the tears in space-time that had been forced open to make way for them.

"And it's done," she muttered, then repeated more loudly so her companions could hear: "It is done, my brethren." Just like that, the turn of events that would decide the fate of the entire world had silently begun; and only three digimon knew about it. "Now..."

"Now, we wait."

"Yes," Owlmon said, as she turned to leave the program. "We wait." But before she left the darkness, she spoke again, hoping that somehow the humans would hear her, but knowing they would not:

"I am sorry, whoever you are. Be brave, be strong. Save us. Please."


	2. Chapter 1: Hatchlings on the Savannah

It was the strangest feeling. His entire body was… it was…

Pain? No. But it was far from comfortable. Cal knew he was changing. Not violently, though, thankfully. It was a rippling kind of change, moving from the core of his belly to every bit of flesh on him, then back again. Over, and over.

He couldn't see anything. Couldn't hear anything. Couldn't breathe. Not that he needed to. It was the most terrifying thing he had ever experienced. He wondered if he was dead and entering the afterlife.

And then: Light. Air. Grass.

Gone was the water that Cal had been swimming in before his 'change', and when he opened his eyes, he realised that he did not recognise this place at all. Sitting up so he could see over the grass, he saw that water lapped against some rocks to his left, and splashed him with gentle sprays as it moved down a stream. To his right, the grass beneath him stretched along as far as he could see into a golden savannah before rising into tall snow-topped mountains.

Behind him, there were trees only twenty or so metres away forming a thick, dark wood he didn't plan on entering any time soon.

"I _must_ be dead," he muttered as he got to his shaky feet and grabbed his cornrowed head. The sun was high overhead, peering down at him from among white-grey clouds. Above, a bird passed by, so far away it was barely visible.

This all felt so… foreign. Like something he'd see in a documentary of the African savannah. There were no such grasslands back where Cal was from.

The plastic bag that held the backpack with his dry clothes was still tied to his ankle. Surely _that_ wouldn't have gone with him if he had died.

He allowed himself to fall onto his wet behind. He took of his goggles and shook off the wetness from his plaits, then wiped the remaining water from his face.

It was then, without the fogginess of those lenses, that he was able to see how strangely shaped the trees were. They didn't have leaves as Cal knew them. In fact, they looked like satellite dishes. Each had a single broad green surface that faced skywards. Some had brown projections that joined together above it, just like real satellite dishes. And, like a real forest, some were taller than others.

It was a good thing Cal was sitting down because he'd likely have fallen quite ungracefully in shock if he hadn't.

"Where the _hell_ am I…?"

A sound drew his attention back to the water. Huge bubbles were rising in the centre of the five-metre wide stream. At first, it was just as if that small section of the water was boiling, but soon, the bubbles were literally rising out of it, and bursting, sending large droplets of water back into the rivulet. But not all of them. Some of the droplets stopped in midair before slowly moving together and coalescing above.

Cal was unable to turn his eyes away as the glob of water grew bigger and bigger and began to take on definite shape. He wasn't scared of it, though. For some reason, he knew it was no danger to him; indeed that it was meant _for_ him.

When it was an oval about a foot tall, it began to grow opaque. In a matter of seconds, it was white with a few big light-blue spots.

An egg.

And in front of the egg, a tiny spark of blue appeared, quickly growing and changing shape as well. Both strange objects moved towards him. And Cal instinctively reached out his hands to catch them.

The egg was warm. It rested in his left hand and pulsed with life, as if it had been laid by a huge bird weeks or months ago, not been birthed by water mere moments before. In his right hand was a grey and blue device with a total of four buttons on it: a red power button to the bottom right of a rectangular screen, two white arrow-like buttons below the screen, and a dark yellow horizontal oval under that. It had a loop at the top with a pivoted blue arm that seemed to be designed so that it could be kept in a belt loop.

On the screen, he saw a pixelated image of the egg that rested in other his hand. No colour. Just black, as if the device was one of those digital pet toys that they used to sell when he was younger.

And, as the egg started to shake, so did the image.

He held on to the egg, resting it in his lap, so spellbound he was barely breathing. A gentle glow started coming from the egg, and before he knew it, it was gone.

But in its place was the most frail-looking creature he had set eyes on in a long time. It was as warm as the egg; light blue, round, with dark eyes and a tuft of hair on its forehead. In its mouth was a dark-yellow pacifier. It had a tail of pale blue, and at the edge of it was a shiny sphere the same colour as its main round body.

It looked up at Cal with such innocence and trust. And it babbled. In fact, it sounded almost like a baby trying to say the actual word 'babble':

"Babbu, babbu."

Cal, as utterly bewildered as he was by all that was happening, couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry, little thing," he found himself saying, "I'll take care of you. Whatever you are."

Cal was dry and dressed, his navy-blue goggles resting against his clavicle like a necklace, when he heard the sobbing. Babbu, as he decided to call the little thing, fidgeted in his arms, as if it had heard it, too.

He'd been walking along for just a few minutes, following the stream away from the strangeness and darkness of the satellite dish tree forest. He'd seen or heard no sign of human or animal life until then.

He turned away from the water, trying to find out where the sound was coming from. The only possible location was the sole satellite-tree a short distance away. Its dark brown trunk was broad, and could easily hide a crying person behind it.

He jogged through the shin-high grass to the tree, trying not to make too much noise and startle whoever was there. The tree's bark was smooth, and had branches that reached up and supported the dish. And as he moved around it, he heard the sob turn to a gasp.

A little girl sat with her arms wrapped around a round woolly ball. She had tan skin, and dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. In a quick movement, she got to her feet, and was backing away.

"It's okay," Cal said as he knelt so that he was closer to her height. "I won't hurt you. My name is Cal."

The little girl didn't look older than seven, which would make her ten years younger than he was. If she had come to this place in the same way he did, no wonder she was scared. She was visibly shaking. The golden woolly ball, however, cooed in her arms, as if had not a care in the world. Hazel eyes fluttered open and stared curiously at Cal. Another strange baby creature.

"Did you just get here, too?" he continued, trying to calm her. "I know this place is strange, but…" He stopped, searching for something to say, but could find nothing that he felt could help. She just kept looking at him unblinkingly.

"You have a little friend, too, huh? Did it come from an egg like little Babbu here?"

Nothing. Not even a single word. It was then that Cal realised that she looked Middle Eastern, like some people he'd recently seen on an international news station. Maybe she didn't even understand English.

"Yes," she finally said. "He's fuzzy."

She _did_ have an accent he couldn't place, but at least she understood him. She still looked scared, though.

"Wh-Where are we?"

That was one question Cal wished he wasn't asked. All he could say was, "I don't know. But I promise we'll find a way to get back home." A lie. He didn't know if they'd ever get back home. Were they abducted? Drugged? Was _that_ why his body had felt so weird?

She was shaking less, but still looked scared when she bent her knees and sat on the grass. "My name is Ari." She looked down at the creature she was holding. "I haven't given him a name yet."

"Ari? That's a pretty name." He followed her lead and sat.

"It's Hebrew. My mom says it's a pretty name, too."

"My mother calls me River," he told her, trying to find anything to distract the little girl from the situation at hand. "She gave me that name. It's my middle name. I'm Calder River Lynn. I don't usually tell people my middle name, 'cause it's weird."

"No," Ari said, seriously. "It's not weird."

Cal saw Ari's gaze shift suddenly. When he turned, he saw what she was looking at. Across the river, there were two other people. They were walking quickly across the grasslands towards them, holding things in their hands, too. Each had their own tiny creature.

One looked around Cal's age: A tall, light-skinned girl with short blonde hair framing her face. In her arms was a pink ball with a fox-like tail. Beside her was a boy in his early teens who had dark skin and black hair, and had a small silver thing with no distinctive feature that Cal could see from all the way across the river.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing Cal and Ari saw. Some distance behind the two newcomers, something stood up, so it could be seen above the grass. Large, fuzzy pointed ears and a head of ginger and black fur showed themselves. The grass parted as the creature started towards the pair with such speed that Cal instinctively thought it could only be some sort of predator.

Ari screamed and nearly stumbled as she got to her feet. Cal stood, too, and yelled at the two who were coming towards them from across the river, but it was nothing more coherent or useful than, "Run!"

They turned and saw their pursuer. As it came closer, they could see that, though feline in appearance, it stood on two legs. That fact made it look smaller, but no less ferocious, nor did that stop it from moving faster than any cat that Cal had ever seen. There was no way they would escape. It would be on them in mere seconds.

But from Cal and Ari's side of the stream, a blur dashed over to their rescue, clearing the rivulet in a single leap. It had moved straight past Cal, and yet he'd had no hint of its coming. What in the world _were_ these things?

When it landed on the other side, he saw what it was: a huge grey canine with disproportionately large black paws, a long, slender tail, and a head that seemed too big for its body, too. It had black stripes all along its back, and piercing red eyes that looked almost as fierce as the fangs that it bared as it faced the feline creature, standing between it and its human quarry.

The cat thing had a coat pattern that would seem quite natural on a real cat. Its belly and snout were white, but its back had black and ginger stripes that also covered most of its head, and its tail was ginger and brown. It narrowed amber eyes at the intruder, lifting gloved hands. The gloves were dark brown and tipped with sharp claws so that they seemed to have been the paws of some other poor creature, pilfered by this feline for its own use.

The blonde girl and dusty boy stood frozen behind their saviour. What else _could_ they do?

"Get over here!" Cal screamed at them. Ari was at his side in an instant, as if it was her he'd given the instruction, gripping onto him so tight he wondered if her little golden woolly creature was getting similar treatment. She was shaking again, and he couldn't blame her. But the two on the other side still hadn't moved. Then, he shouted so loud his throat hurt: " _Now_!"

That seemed to galvanise them. The girl grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him the rest of the metre or two towards the water, and they jumped in. The water reached the boy to his chin and the girl at her chest. They both held their little friends above their heads as they fought the current to get across.

Behind them, the canine and feline started fighting. In a flurry of fangs and claws, bark-roars and meow-screams, they fought so viciously that Cal wanted nothing more than to get away. Babbu was shaking in his arms, Ari's face was buried in his shirt, and he found himself just as frozen as the two across the water had been.

He tried to give Babbu to Ari and tell her to run as he waited for the newcomers to cross, but his body refused to get that message. For agonisingly long moments, his attention shifted from the two battling creatures to the humans crossing the water. _Don't look back_ , he thought at them. _Just keep coming this way_!

They were quite disobedient, of course. The fighting was just too horrible to ignore. The feline slashed at the canine, but was too slow, so she sent a huge hunk of grassy earth flying into the brook. The blonde let out a yelp as it fell into the water before her, making a splash that doused her hair. It was a good thing she'd been looking back, or she'd have had a mouthful of water.

The two finally made it across. Dripping water onto the bank, they stumbled to dry land.

"Ari, time to go," Cal croaked, his throat still somewhat sore.

She obeyed, turning away from the frightful scene. As the four started to run past the tree into the wide open savannah, Cal heard a final high-pitched scream behind them. He held on to Ari's hand, forcing himself to run slowly enough that she could keep up.

That meant that the other two were ahead of him and Ari by the time the canine overtook them in another unnatural burst of speed. Cal fell back in terror, pulling a screaming Ari with him into a protective embrace as the other boy and girl crashed right into the grey and black fur.


	3. Chapter 2: A Wolf and His Cubs

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""It's okay, small one, you're safe now."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"The voice was directed at Ari. That got her to stop screaming. It was a deep voice that sounded, somehow, both rough as gravel and smooth as river stones. And it came from none other than the grey and black canine monster. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"She'd stopped screaming, but still she whimpered, and shivered. Babbu, on the other hand, had calmed beside her, looking with eager dark eyes at the huge wolf head that hung before them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""I am AkelaGarurumon," he continued, addressing not just Ari now, but all of them. "That Mikemon—" he pronounced it like emmih-keh-mon/em "—is gone now. A newly evolved upstart hoping to get more power by preying on the weak, no doubt." He shook his huge head. "She won't be bothering you anymore." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"Cal took a quick look over his shoulder and saw the feline still running away in defeat, limping, yet still moving at blinding speed. It was Ari pressing herself closer to him that brought his attention back to the wolf. The older, blonde girl, and the other boy, who looked Indian close up, had both fallen on their butts and looked up with wide eyes at the huge creature before them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""I congratulate you children on your bravery for protecting these babies. How strange to meet emeight/em digimon whose kinds I don't know. What sort of digimon are you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"He looked from face to face. It was hard to believe that only moments before he had been locked in fierce battle with teeth bared, snarling like a vicious beast. There was no hint of a wound or other damage on him. His black and grey fur – striped like a zebra's – wasn't even ruffled. His red eyes had grown almost gentle. He still stood impressively tall at about a storey and a half, though./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""You don't need to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you. What sort of digimon are you? You don't seem suited to this environment at all."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"It was the Indian boy who answered first. He sounded British. "We're not… that," he managed to say with a slightly trembling voice. "We're human."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""emHu/emmon?" AkelaGarurumon said, tilting his head to the left almost like a curious oversized puppy. "I've never heard of emthat/em kind of digimon before."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"Then Cal spoke up. He hoped showing that (or, rather, pretending) he was not afraid that would calm Ari, whom he still held with his right arm, with Babbu in his left. "Not humon. emHuman/em. Human beings." He took a steadying breath." Where are we, Akela…?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"And it was then that Cal recognised that name. It was from a story he'd read as a child, and from that movie, emThe Jungle Book/em. Akela, leader of the wolf pack that adopted Mowgli…/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""AkelaGarurumon," the wolf creature corrected softly. "And is it not obvious? You are on the largest grassland in the world, the Gigabyte Savannah. Well, the edge of it, near Pixel Forest." He pointed with his broad snout towards the forest of satellite-trees. Then, his eyes, narrowed, as he said, "Human, you say…? emNot/em digimon?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""No," the tall girl answered. "I don't know about everyone else, but I've never heard of Gigabyte Savannah or Pixel Forest. Those sound like…" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""Computer stuff," Ari finished for her, albeit faintly. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"Good/span/emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;", Cal She's recovering./em He looked around at the other We all are/em./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""Computer…?" AkelaGarurumon settled himself down on his belly as his eyebrow furrowed. "Human beings… Computer…" he repeated. "You say things I don't understand. You speak, you have intelligence. emEverything/em that speaks is a digimon. If you're not, then… /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""What are you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"Cal pushed Ari gently to the side and got to his feet. Even as he stood, he still had to look up to see into AkelaGarurumon's eyes, a good foot or more above his./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""I think we come from another world. My name is Cal Lynn. I was swimming through a river on my way to summer school when I found myself… I don't know, feeling weird. And then, I was here. And this little thing—" he indicated Babbu by lifting it slightly "—came to me out of the water, along with this." He showed him the digital pet thing, which was securely fastened to a belt loop of his khaki three-quarter pants. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"Cal suddenly realised he should probably explain something for the sake of the other humans. "My school's on the other side of a river," he told them. "I sometimes swim across for exercise, instead of walking all the way to the bridge." Ashwin and Kyndal's faces showed understanding, and Cal found himself smiling at their previous confusion. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"The digimon, however, for surely that's what he was, was concerned with other things. He considered what Cal had said for a while, staring over the humans' heads at nothing. Finally, he said, "Another world… It sounds impossible. But you're here. You don't look or smell like any digimon I've ever met. What other explanation emis/em there?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"He turned his gaze to them. "And so what are emyour/em names?" he asked the rest of them before muttering to himself, "Human, not huemmon/em…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""Kyndal Todd," the tall blonde girl said. Her creature's tail twitched as it made a content little gurgling sound. She crossed her legs beneath her so she was more comfortable. She had an accent Cal couldn't place, but it sounded familiar, another he'd heard on TV. She held a digital toy thing like Cal's, red where Cal's was blue./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""Ashwin. Ashwin Grant," the Indian boy said. His silver baby creature looked like a simple ball of fur with round black eyes. He had a toy, too, at the end of a short chain that hung from his belt. His was white and grey./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""I'm Ari Hamal," said Ari behind Cal. He turned and saw for the first time that she had a corner of a yellow digital pet-like toy sticking out of her pants pocket. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"AkelaGarurumon nodded his great head, looking as if he was still considering everything. "And I don't suppose you know the names of the little digimon you each carry. Because though digimon you all may not be, emthey/em definitely are."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"Cal and the others exchanged looks. Each in turn shook his or her head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""This is indeed strange," AkelaGarurumon told them. "A digimon knows the name of just about every other species of digimon he meets. We learn them as we grow up. It is very rare that an adult happen upon another digimon without knowing at least emthat/em. It's part of our culture, almost a matter of pride." His expression was grave. That was clear, even though he wasn't human. "I am the caregiver of babies in this area. I find them, take them to safety, and nurture them. And in all the years I've been in this line of work, I've never met a baby who I couldn't identify. Never./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;" "But here, there are emfour/em, hatched on the same day, moments apart, embefore/em I could find their digieggs, and I don't know what they are."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"It was strange seeing such a fierce-looking monster looking so bewildered. Cal looked down at Babbu. emYou don't even know what's going on, do you?/em he thought. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"As if in response, it asked him, "Babbu?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;" "I hope you don't mind my saying so, since strength is yet another thing we digimon pride ourselves on, but you are not strong enough to be safe out here. The savannah is a dangerous place, and that's why I'm stationed close-by. To find and protect any digieggs I find here. You should come with me." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"After that run-in with Mikemon, none of the humans had any objections. They had more pressing concerns than pride./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"***/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"They followed AkelaGarurumon for at least half an hour. He took them into the forest, assuring them that they would be safe with him. With two humans on each side, his ears kept shifting, as if listening for any danger. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"They were mostly silent, but as they walked under in the shadow of the satellite-tree crowns, AkelaGarurumon asked, "How did you… human beings, you said? How did you find these baby digimon?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"Kyndal spoke first. "When I came into this world, there was a fire near me. An egg just… came out of it, and out came emthis/em little bundle of joy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""Fire?!" AkelaGarurumon stopped and turned to her. "Is it still burning?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""No, no," Kyndal answered quickly. "It… fizzled out somehow."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"AkelaGarurumon's chest visibly heaved as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Fires are a huge problem on the savannah, and the dry season's almost here. And you, Ashwin?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""The egg came out of the ground. It was the strangest thing." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;"AkelaGarurumon turned his head to the right, where Ari and Cal walked. "And you, small one?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""The egg was just… floating in the air when I woke up," she said. She was holding on to Cal's hand as they walked. He wondered if the desire to protect her was what it was like to have a younger sister./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;""A digimon's code is born from the world around it," said AkelaGarurumon as he faced forward once again/spanspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;", and a twig snapped beneath his huge paw/spanspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM;". "When was young, I was told that my digiegg was compiled from the rock on top of a cliff under a full moon./spanspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;" That's why I've wondered for a long time if I'd evolve into WereGerurumon…" His voice trailed off. Cal could have sworn he saw the beginnings of a smile at the corner of that huge mouth./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Anyway, the mystery here is why these digimon seem to have come to being in response to each of you coming into this world," continued AkelaGarurumon when he pulled himself out of his silence. "Someone or something brought or sent you here… And I imagine you want to go back home."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Wait," Cal heard Kyndal say. They all stopped moving, and AkelaGarurumon cast his crimson gaze her way, away from Cal and Ari./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"She walked slowly towards a tree a few feet away from them. It was only then that Cal realised that some trees had thin vines hanging from them, or wrapped around their trunks. Kyndal reached for one of the vines./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Don't you see?" she asked when she turned towards the group. "Ashwin, hold my… digimon for a while."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"He obeyed, and they all looked at her curiously. AkelaGarurumon sat on his haunches. Kyndal took a white smartphone out of her pocket. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Oh. I forgot…" Then, her eyes widened when she pressed a button on the side of her phone. "Wow! We waded through emwater/em, and my phone still works!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Why wouldn't it?" asked AkelaGarurumon. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Electronics and water aren't exactly friends in emour/em world," she answered./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Elec… Okay. That wasn't what you wanted to show us, is it?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;" "No," said Kyndal as she raised her phone and the green-brown vine in opposite hands. "emThis/em is." And then, she did something unexpected./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Cal gasped. And heard Ashwin and Ari let out small cries of surprise. The vine, which hung from a satellite-tree at least twice as tall as AkelaGarurumon had a strangely shaped tip. But that isn't what surprised everyone. What did was that it had fit perfectly into the USB slot of Kyndal's phone. And the phone lit up as if it were charging./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"It was then that Cal decided to look around at these vines. Some had tips that looked like perfect fits for the USB ports of a computer. Some looked like they might fit the HDMI slot of a TV. Others were shaped like they'd fit where his headphones would plug into his iPod./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"All of them resembled the kind things you would expect to plug into some electronic device or other./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Where the hell are we?" Cal blurted out. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Kyndal looked at him squarely in the eye and said, "I think… we're in some kind of computer world."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Actually," said AkelaGarurumon, "we called this place the emDigital/em World."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"***/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"They got to their destination soon after that. The humans were all still somewhat jarred by the revelation of the nature of the world they were in. Digital. The vegetation was some sort of parody of the electronic devices they knew in their own world, only… alive./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"What's next?/span/emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;" Cal thought. emSnakes made out of power cables?/em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""We're here," AkelaGarurumon said suddenly. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Here?" Cal said, squeezing Ari's hand gently. There didn't seem to be anything different about this place than anywhere else in the forest that they'd passed. Trees surrounded them still. There was nowhere they could go./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Here," repeated AkelaGarurumon. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"And a vertical line of light appeared before them, making Ari start and Ashwin cry out, "Bloody hell!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The line quickly grew into a rectangle tall enough for the wolf digimon to walk through. And they saw it was a doorway that bathed them in light. Inside was a colourful place with a large satellite-tree at the centre. The walls were covered with geometric patterns and shapes of all sizes and hues. On the floor were rows and rows of what could only be cribs: silver, wineglass-shaped structures that had soft beds, and bars so the tiny cooing, babbling or crying creature inside each would not fall out. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Babies, just like the ones that Cal and his new companions carried with them. The babies were so diverse that Cal could hardly believe there were so many kinds. There might easily have been hundreds of them, very few of which resembled each other. And there were eggs, too. They rested on the tiled floor, in gaps in the rows of cribs. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"It was a nursery, Cal realised. How could one creature take care of so many tiny babies? /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""This is where I care for the young ones I find," AkelaGarurumon said. "It's a program I inherited, and so I'm the only digimon older than a baby allowed inside. In order to protect the digieggs and babies. In all honesty, though…" He paused. "Well, I can only guess that since you are not digimon, it might just allow you to enter./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""If you can, you'll be safe here. But if not, you will have to wait outside while I take your baby digimon inside and try to edit the program so it allows you humans in."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Program. This really /span/emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"isem a computer world/em, Cal thought. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The idea of being left without the protection of the hulking wolf was not very enticing. He looked around to the others, and knew they had the same thought. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Well? Aren't you going to try to go in?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Ari stepped forward, gently pulling Cal with her. Babbu made a small noise as they moved towards the brightly coloured chamber. Cal felt himself holding his breath as Ari pulled him out across the threshold. Cal half expected to feel a similar strange sensation to when he had originally gone into the Digital World. Some feeling of… change./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"But there was nothing. It was like passing through any door. The dirt gave way to hard white tiles, and they were inside. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Good," said AkelaGarurumon behind them, clearly relieved. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Cal and Ari turned and watched Ashwin and Kyndal step inside. Then, they all made way for AkelaGarurumon to enter, too, and the doorway vanished as quickly as it appeared./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Hold on a moment," the wolf digimon said. "It's feeding time." Then, there was movement atop the tree. Dozens of dark, translucent canine figures jumped from the green dish, which faced a large ball of light floating far above it, where Cal assumed there might be a ceiling hiding behind some white foggy light. The figures looked like AkelaGarurumon but smaller by about half. Each carried a white object in its snout and headed to a crib, where it dropped the white ball before the baby digimon before heading back for more./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""A milkfruit tree," AkelaGarurumon explained, probably seeing the bewildered expressions of Cal and the others. "It bears fruit all year round. A special tree. Every single Nursery in the world has one."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""What are these?" Ari asked, releasing Cal's hand and pointing to one of the shadowy wolves as it bounded past her. "Are they digimon, too?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""No. They're part of the program. Projections of me to help me take care of all these little ones. A useful addition, if I do say so myself. It's a modification I made soon after I took on this role. Most Nurseries have a lot more digimon to provide care. But here… it's just me./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Now, if you'll follow me," he said, turning to his right, "I think the first order of business is to find the names of your little ones. That, at least is a question we can answer."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Babbu was getting excited, making noises and fidgeting as the shadow wolves trotted past. Ari stepped forward first, and Cal followed, with Kyndal and Ashwin behind them. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"AkelaGarurumon stopped next to the long white shelf or table that projected out from the wall. On it were about ten pillows, each big enough for a baby digimon to rest on comfortably. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""This part of the Nursery program hasn't been used in a long time," said AkelaGarurumon. "Just rest your babies on the pillows, and the program will do the rest."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Cal looked down at Babbu. This would be the second time since he'd found it that he'd not be in contact with it. He put it down first when he changed out of his swim trunks and into his dry clothes. But for some reason, being in this strange place, apparently eminside/em a computer program, made him feel wary of letting it go again. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"He should feel Babbu was safe in the Nursery. He'd no proof that AkelaGarurumon wanted to hurt them. But… he still had a bad feeling./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""We still should do this, shouldn't we?" he muttered to Babbu. "We have to do emsomething/em." And so, he stepped away from Ari, and towards the table. Babbu wiggled a bit in his hand as he rested it on the nearest pillow. And as he let go, something popped into being above it that made him jump back and nearly bump into Ari; a strange string of angular symbols./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""What the hell is emthat/em?!" Cal yelled./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"AkelaGarurumon looked to him with that head-tilting-to-the-side expression. "I'm guessing you can't read it?" He looked towards each of the children and saw the confusion on their faces before looking back to Cal. "It's your digimon's name. Bubblemon. Are all human beings illiterate in your world?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Wait just a blooming minute!" Ashwin exclaimed. "emI/em can read emEnglish/em just fine! Just not whatever emthat/em is!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Ari chuckled behind Cal, which made him smile a bit himself. Babbu, or rather Bubblemon, gurgled, joining the chorus of baby noises all around them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Hmm…" AkelaGarurumon's brow furrowed. "That emis/em English. You'll have to be sure to show me how English DigiCode is written in your world." He walked up to the tiny blue digimon and nudged it with his black snout. "Hello, Bubblemon. Welcome to the world."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Babbu closed its eyes made a noise that was clearly a giggle. Then, AkelaGarurumon turned an expectant face towards the rest of the humans. Cal picked up Babbu, and walked away from the table as Ashwin stepped forward with his silver baby digimon. Above its head floated the DigiCode word which AkelaGarurumon translated as Arjemon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Kyndal's was next: Wagmon. And finally, Ari's digimon, Alefmon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"When each baby was back in the arms of its human, the last of AkelaGarurumon's shadows vanished had just vanished back into the dish of the satellite-tree, except for one. It stopped before Cal and the others, dropping a branch of pearly white fruits the size of baseballs before running off between rows of cribs and jumping at least three storeys to its resting place atop the tree. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The baby digimon were silent in their cribs as they fed. AkelaGarurumon nodded to the branch on the floor, and Cal knew what he expected them to do. Each human picked up a fruit, which was came off the branch easily at their touch. It was soft, as if it was made of some liquid so viscous that it kept its spherical shape. Cal put the while ball to Bubblemon's mouth and watched as some instinct took over and it started sucking on the ball. Ari and the others did the same, giving their baby digimon their first meals./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""There's something you should know," AkelaGarurumon said, as he lay down, keeping his head upright. "The Name Bed does not only tell me the name of your digimon. It sends the caregiver a full diagnostic. Your babies hatched less than an hour ago, yet they all have the maturity of a digimon who's hatched weeks ago. Yet another surprise."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""What does that mean?" Kyndal asked. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""It means," AkelaGarurumon continued, "your digimon are maturing faster than any other I've ever seen. Before the sun sets tomorrow, they may already have evolved."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Cal spoke up, "Evolve…? What do you mean?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""So much to explain" AkelaGarurumon stood and walked over to where a baby rested, bits of white milkfruit hanging from its mouth. It was red with three round-tipped ear- or horn-like projections on it. "A digimon changes form as it grows. A long time ago, this is what I looked like. I was called Punimon back then, just like him."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"He turned towards the humans and their digimon. "I don't know why you're here, or how you got here, but I think I know how you can find out. You have to go ask the Wizarmon."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Wizarmon? Weird name/span/emspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;", Cal mused, glancing around at the others to see if they had the same thought. emIt sounds… like 'wizard'…?/em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Their Order," continued AkelaGarurumon, "has made it their business to know the happenings of the Digital World. They're wise, and in tune to things in a way few others are. If anyone knows why you are here, they do. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""You're free to stay here until you're ready, but I believe they/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #545454; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"—/spanspan lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"He stopped and looked upwards. He suddenly had an expression that looked like extreme terror, even on his canine face. And, soon after, a large noise reverberated through the Nursery. It was like a cross between a boom and a crack. And it was followed by another. And another./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""No," murmured AkelaGarurumon between booming noises. "It can't be!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The light at the top of the Nursery turned red, and high pitched alarm started going off. Babies started screaming all over. And AkelaGarurumon looked terrified./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""What's going on?" yelled Kyndal. Ari grabbed on to Cal's hand and he pulled her to him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;" AkelaGarurumon didn't answer. Instead, a voice reached Cal's ears over the scream of the babies (including Babbu and the others) and the alarm. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""AkelaGarurumon! What's going on?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""The Nursery's in danger! Someone's coming in!" The canine digimon that, less than an hour before, had seemed invincible, had trembling lips and a tail tucked between his legs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""I'm nearby!" the voice answered. It was an adult female voice. "Ready the babies for transport!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""I thought you said no other digimon could come in!" Cal shouted. Ari whimpered and trembled against him, and Kyndal and Ashwin's heads flashed around wildly as they tried to find the sourc of the booming noise./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""I thought so, too," AkelaGarurumon said, barely audible in the chaos. He looked like he was in a trance. "emNo one/em is strong enough to break into a Nursery program. No one…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Akela! What are you doing?! emDo/em something!" Kyndal yelled. She had fallen to her knees, holding her screaming Wagmon against her chest./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Kyndal's call seemed to pull the large digimon out of his stupor. He shook his head as if he'd just come out of water and was flashing it off his fur. Then, he tossed his head back and howled. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The shadow wolves emerged once again. Many, many more this time, at least as many there were babies in the Nursery. Each moved towards a baby digimon, lifting it from its crib with its mouth the way a mother wolf would its cubs, or lifting an egg the same way. Another doorway opened, this one opening into the clear blue sky rather than the darkness of the forest, and the muffled sound of a jet engine filled the room, mingling with the alarm and screams of the babies. The shadow wolves were rushing to the new doorway. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Go! Follow them!" AkelaGarurumon shouted to the humans. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Large cracks started forming on the walls as Cal grabbed Ari's hand and started to run. Suddenly, the doorway darkened as though a room had appeared on the other side of it. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Tell her to take you to the Wizarmon Order," continued AkelaGarurumon. He sounded farther away. Cal realised he was not following them, and Ashwin and Kyndal passed him and Ari as he stopped to look. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"A sudden cracking sound marked the end of the alarm as a large chunk of the wall fell onto the empty cribs beneath it. The wiring of the alarm must have burst. The jet engine's sound filled the room in its place./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Akela! What are you doing! Come on!" shouted Cal./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""No! I've got to keep whoever this is distracted long enough for you to escape! emGo/em!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"Babbu was crying. Ari was pulling on his hand, urging him towards the exit. With a yell of frustration, he gave in, heading after the other two humans. They ran between the rows of empty cribs with shadow wolves passing them with their bawling baby charges in their mouths. The floor shook beneath their feet, and cribs literally shattered into shards of red-tinted silver light all around them. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The last of the shadows moved through the doorway when he and Ari ran through. When he turned back, the glimpse he saw of the Nursery was unrecognisable. Chunks of wall were scattered all over./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"AkelaGarurumon was nowhere to be seen./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The doorway suddenly closed, shutting the red light away, and Cal fell backwards as the room he was in surged forward with such speed he must have been in some sort of train or other quick-moving vehicle./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"The same female voice sounded in his ears as he tried to get his bearings:/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;""Can someone please tell me what just happened?!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; line-height: 200%;"span lang="EN-JM" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-JM; mso-fareast-language: JA;"And Cal wished more than anything that he knew./span/p 


	4. Chapter 3: No Time for Jet Lag

From one chaotic environment into another. This one, though, was less so, thankfully. Baby digimon were crying all around Cal and the others. And the strange disembodied voice didn't make it any easier to get some sort of equilibrium.

They were in a large hallway with metallic walls that were a dull blue colour. There were doors on either side, and it seemed to Cal like it was the cargo bay of some large aircraft. As Cal looked around, the AkelaGarurumon shadow copies lasted for just a few moments more, and then flickered out of existence one by one, like light bulbs separated from their power source.

"I asked a question," the voice said again. "What _happened_ in the Nursery?!"

"It was attacked," answered Cal. "We don't know by who. Or what."

"I know _that_ much," the female voice snapped. "But it's impossible for _any_ Nursery to be breached. No one, not even the most powerful digimon can break in! So, what happened? Was the program corrupted somehow?"

"We don't _know_ , okay?" Kyndal said, clearly not appreciating how she was being spoken to.

"We-we-we're not exactly familiar with how this world works," Ashwin added.

By that time, all the children had got to their feet. All except little Ari, who kneeled and whimpered next to the door; though it was barely audible above the cries of the babies all around them. Cal turned and walked towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Babbu was calming down in Cal's arm, and Alefmon seemed far more concerned with its human's worries to cry. It looked up at Ari with its hazel eyes.

"This world? You… You… are not from this world?" the voice said after a few moments.

"That's right, we aren't," Ashwin told her.

"Visitors from another world. So they were right…"

Cal lifted his head in surprise at this, and locked eyes with Ashwin and Kyndal, who seemed just as shocked as he was. "What do you mean?" he called out.

"I will explain. But first, I must deal with these babies. They're scared, and they have a right to be. This bay houses a rudimentary Nursery. Not as thorough in its programming as the one you just left, but it'll do. For now."

"Wait," Cal said. "Who are you? _Where_ are you?"

"I suppose I should at least tell you that," the female voice said. "I am JetSartomon. You say you are not from this world, so I suppose you will not understand if I tell you that I am a Carrier. I transport digimon and objects through the skies of the Digital World, just as Trailmon do over land.

"So, I am all around you. I am the vessel you are inside right now. But, I suppose I should be courteous and remember that smaller digimon, and whatever _you_ all are, might prefer to be able to _look_ at something…"

As she finished, something caught Cal's eye to his left. A shimmer of blue light appeared, quickly growing and changing shape. It grew legs, wings, a head, and a tail, until the glowing, translucent form of a large blue dragon with horns and a club tail looked down at the four humans. Ari grabbed hold of Cal, shivering with fear. He didn't blame her. It was truly a fearful sight.

"Sorry, small one," JetSartomon said to Ari, her voice softening for the first time since they'd come aboard this living aircraft. "This is the only holographic form I am able to take. We Jetmon Successors are capable of using the shape of their pre-evolved form as holograms inside their bodies. I can make it disappear, if you prefer."

Ari sniffled a little, and pulled away from Cal. "No… I'm fine," she said. She wiped away her tears and looked up, looking directly into the JetSartomon hologram's eyes.

"That's it. You're a brave girl, aren't you?" Cal said to Ari with a smile.

Ari looked at him and managed a smile and a little giggle, but she was clearly still shaken by all that had happened.

"Brave, indeed," JetSartomon agreed with a nod. "Now… to deal with these _other_ little ones."

Cal heard popping sounds as the hundreds of baby digimon all around them were lifted into the air and wineglass-shaped cribs similar the ones in AkelaGarurumon's Nursery appeared dozens at a time. They were not silver, though, but blue. Many of them stopped crying as they were lifted off the floor, as if they knew they were being cared for. But some continued to bawl even as they rested on the soft cushions of their cribs, still traumatized after the chaos that had torn them from the only home they'd ever known.

"That's all I can do for now," JetSartomon said when she was finished. "I can't feed or care for them here, so I will have to take them to another Nursery."

Babbu made a gurgling sound in Cal's arms. And Alefmon looked up at Ari with cheer in its eyes. As Cal looked to Kyndal and Ashwin, he saw that their digimon had calmed as well. Kyndal's face was a mask of what seemed like anger, and Ashwin seemed worried, or sad, as if he wished all this would be over soon.

"Now, if you will follow me," JetSartomon said, "we have much to discuss, I'm sure."

JetSartomon's hologram led them through the forest of cribs, up a very wide flight of metal stairs that ran against the high wall of the cargo bay, and through one of the many large doors that lined the walls. The door opened (of its own accord, of course) and the children carried their digimon into a room that, though not as large as the cargo bay below them, seemed designed so that many AkelaGarurumon-sized digimon could fit inside it. Cal could hardly believe that this entire gigantic structure was _one_ single digimon.

But after all he'd seen in less than an hour of being in the Digital World, he wondered why he was surprised.

When he entered the empty room, Ari close behind him, and Kyndal and Ashwin taking up the rear, Cal saw that there was a line of circular windows lining the room, and he could see the blue sky beyond.

"Is it a good idea to leave the babies alone?" Cal asked the glowing blue dragon as the door closed behind them, shutting out the sound of the crying babies.

"It might be hard to believe," JetSartomon answered, "but on this vessel, no one can truly be alone. I am everywhere, after all."

The unwelcome question of whether JetSartomon came equipped with bathrooms popping into Cal's head, and he tried to stop himself from wondering if she had eyes in there somehow.

The children soon settled themselves into a semi-circle before the floating blue hologram, their baby digimon in their arms.

"First, introductions, if you please," JetSartomon said.

All four humans quickly stated their names, and the names of their digimon. "We were taken from our world into this one," Kyndal added, petting a content-looking Wagmon on its head. "We don't know how or why."

JetSartomon's wing nodded her horned head. "That's a question I would like answered as well. For some time, the Wizardmon have been speaking of a growing tear in the fabric of our world. They knew something would happen, but were unclear on the details. I think _you_ four are what they sensed, your crossing over from your world into ours."

"Those Wizardmon things again?" Ashwin muttered. His silver Arjemon rested in his lap, eyes darting around the room.

"AkelaGarurumon mentioned them, too," Cal said to JetSartomon. "Who are they?"

"Well, the Wizardmon Order is a greatly respected sect on our continent, and in our world. They're quite in tune with the happenings and structure of the Digital World." JetSartomon let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "It's so strange to have to explain these things. _Everyone_ knows about the Wizardmon, after all.

"I'll take you to them on the way to a new Nursery that's not yet very populated. I've already contacted them and let them know we're on our way. I'll drop as many of these ones there as possible. The poor dears must be so afraid.

"In any case, what has happened since you came to this world?"

In turns, the three older children told JetSartomon about being attacked by Mikemon, rescued by AkelaGarurumon, and then the attack on the Nursery. Cal also mentioned when they arrived, they the eggs came to them, and they hatched into the digimon JetSartomon saw before her.

"AkelaGarurumon…" Ari suddenly said suddenly when they were finished, drawing everyone's attention when. "He stayed behind. What's going to happen to him?"

"I wish I knew," JetSartomon said sadly. "My priority – and his – was to secure the babies. He—"

"Well, if you ask me, he didn't so such a good job of that," Kyndal said. "At the first sign of danger, he froze like a frightened pussy cat."

At this, JetSartomon snapped her gaze at the blonde girl and growled with such fury Cal could have sword he felt the floor shake.

"AkelaGarurumon is the bravest digimon I know!" she yelled with the strength of a jet engine. " _He_ stayed while the caregivers of that Nursery were killed one by one, without _any_ explanation we could find! He felt the danger looming every single day for _decades_ , but stayed while some of the others left their post out of fear! I _suggest_ you keep yourself quiet and stop speaking about things you know absolutely _nothing_!"

Her voice seemed echo around the room for an uncomfortable eternity, and Kyndal sat had fallen back in shock. Wagmon shivered in Kyndal's arms, and Cal and the others remained silent, just as surprised at the sudden uproar.

JetSartomon pulled her holographic head back and held it towards the ground sorrowfully. "You have to understand," she said softly, "Nurseries are only programs in the entire Digital World that _cannot_ be breached. They were the _only_ safe places in the entire world. At least we thought so. For one to be broken into… it undoes everyone we've known our entire lives. Many of us have dreamed of going back there, but only the caregivers chosen by the programs themselves are allowed inside. And babies, of course."

She lifted her head and added with a bit more force, "We have to get you to the Wizardmon. They are the only ones who might know who broke the program. And why they were after you."

"After _us_?" the three older humans said, expressed their shock in unison.

"Well, yes," said JetSartomon, narrowing her eyes. "Had it not occurred to you? Think about it. The Nursery caregivers have been targeted over the decades, yes. But _never_ has the Nursery been attacked. Whoever it is always waited till they left to find a baby or digiegg. And then, when _you_ arrive and, by virtue of your special make-up, make it into the Nursery, it is attacked."

She paused and her gaze fell again to the floor. "I suppose," she continued, "that it's only now that whatever force it is has become strong enough to… destroy the Nursery. But it is too much of a coincidence in my mind. I think whoever it is _knew_ that you would come to the Gigabyte Savannah, and _knew_ that your coming would coincide with the hatching of these little ones." With her dragonic head, she indicated the baby digimon each of the humans held. "That's the only thing that makes sense to me."

The idea that he and the others were being chased by a power strong enough to do what JetSartomon and AkelaGarurumon both found impossible literally sent a shiver down Cal's spine. Ari let out a sob beside him. He looked down at Babbu, envying its infantile ignorance. A glance a Kyndal and Ashwin, whose mouths hung open, confirmed that they were at least as unnerved as he and Ari were.

"JetSartomon, greetings," a male voice sounded, as if over an intercom, cutting into Cal's thoughts. "You're in quite a hurry. What is going on?"

"Gatekeeper," JetSartomon said solemnly. "I'm afraid something terrible has happened. I will arrive shortly. I have some visitors that the Order should meet."

"Understood. We await your arrival."

JetSartomon turned her attention back to the group of humans and digimon. "You should go back downstairs now," she told them. "We're almost there. You'll have to retell your story to the Order, but then I think you'll get answers."

 _The Wizardmon Order,_ Cal thought, gripping the babbling Babbu a bit more tightly. He just hoped that they really did know what was going on. Because it seemed no one else did.


End file.
